Sunday 10 March 2024

Saxon Chevauleger & Uhlans - Black Hussar 28mm

Saxon Light Cavalry, the Von Polenz Chevauleger, and Prinz Clemens Uhlans.  The Chevaulegers I posted a couple of years back, but the Uhlans are newly painted, so thought I'd take the oportunity to post both these units together. These are all from Black Hussar Miniatures.





Von Polenz Chevaulegers.






Prinz Clemenz Uhlans. Newly painted, with North Star metal lances and penants from Adolfo Ramos, except I had to repaint top half to the green from blue as this more obscure combo wasn't one he made at time of purchase.  Wasn't too sure of the green here but most notes I've seen have it fairly light in shade and this looks good so that's what I went with :)







These models are in campaign dress with Shako's covered, though fortunately the rest of the uniform makes up for that in terms of colour. Full dress has plumes etc as you'd expect. 


Saturday 9 March 2024

Tirailleurs Corses and du Po

Two Light Infantry units, Tirailleurs Corses (Corsican from Napoleon's home island of Corsica) and du Po (Piedmontese). These units were often brigaded together and earned a reputation as veteran troops.

I made these from extra elite company figures in the Perry set, together with a Victrix Officer and Drummer in each. The figures are not quite right, e.g. Corses apparently had their ammo pouch on the front rather than the rear - but close enough for my purposes. I've also used a few less figures and more active poses than in most units, which suits the fact that they will often be deployed in open order as befits their light infantry role.


Tirailleurs Corses.








Tirailleurs du Po.







One example of the various and diverse examples you can find on uniforms of these units! Both would be wearing Shakos in later periods, and the Corses likely had blue rather than brown uniforms for at least some of their history. However, the brown is one of the few uniforms of that colour and wargaming tradition for the Corses by now, so I wanted to paint them up in that colour :)

UPDATE 10.03.2024. Dave W on The Wargaming Forum has pointed out this interesting piece of history, indicating it's likely the Corses actually wore blue with green facings, specifically: "...brown uniforms are from the Army of Italy units of Corsican Legions, formed of National Guards taken to the mainland. There were 5 and all had different facing colours. The Tir.Corse, like du Po, were always dressed in French legere blue, but with the ‘green’ facings given from origin (1802) according to d’Ornanos request. The Tir. du Po wore chapeau at inception and did so thru 1808 at least."  
See this source as one account with some more details. Article in French but you can tight click and select translate to English in Chrome. More links to sources in this thread.


I also have a large and growing backlog of newly painted units I must add to this blog (twenty nine of them at current count!), so will try to add at least some of these in near future. :)

Sunday 27 August 2023

Battlereport: Jakubowo 1812 Refight

Another refight today at the local club, Jakubowo/Klyastitsy, from the northern front in 1812 campaign. Paul and I took the defending French, while Ion and Matt attacked with the Russians.

Scenario


Below is the map and overview of the scenario, decided upon after consulting a range of sources and interpretations of this action. The battlefield seems to have been on a narrow front between heavily wooded terrain, which would make it a very attritional battle with high troop density. The exact size of the settlement of Jakubowo is hard to decide upon and there seem to be various interpretations, some have it up to half a km wide, but I went with the below.

I also found one other nice looking refight of this in 6mm here at David Grech's blog for comparison.


French CinC: Oudinot (2 Support rolls)

Legrand(2 Rerolls) (line of squares South of Jakubowo plus Jakubowo and ridge)
Albert 5: 4 Light Infantry (In and around buildings of Jakubowo)
Maison 5: 4 Line, 1 Foot Artillery, 1 Skirmishers
Moleau 4: 4 Line, 1 Foot Artillery, 1 Skirmishers
Castex 4: 2 Light cavalry (line of squares just South of Jakubowo)

Vedier(1 Reroll) (line of squares just north of Gvodsky) 

Vives 4: 4 Light Infantry, 5 Line, 1 Foot Artillery, 1 Skirmishers

Pouget 5: 4 Line, 4 Recruit Line, 1 Foot Artillery, 1 Skirmishers

Arrive turn 3 from south edge

Doumerc 4: 3 Veteran Cuirassiers, 2 Veteran Horse Artillery


Russian CinC: Wittgenstein (2 Support rolls)

24” deployment from north edge
Koulnieff 4: (Advance guard) 1 Veteran Light cavalry, 1 Raw Light cavalry (Cossacks), 1 Veteran Horse Artillery
Dennisiev 4: 4 Light Infantry  

12” deployment from north edge

Berg (1 Reroll)

Prince of Siberia 4: 4 Line, 1 Foot Artillery, 1 Skirmishers

Loukoff 4: 4 Line, 4 Light Infantry, 1 Foot Artillery, 2 Heavy Artillery

Kakhofski 3: 7 Veteran Line (Grenadiers), 1 Veteran Horse Artillery

Balk 4: 2 Dragoons


Arriving turn 1 from north edge

Sasanov (0 rerolls)

Harpe 4: 4 Line, 1 Foot Artillery, 1 Skirmishers

Helfrick 4: 4 Line, 1 Foot Artillery, 1 Skirmishers

Prince Repnin 3: 1 Veteran Cuirassiers, 1 Dragoon, 1 Heavy Artillery, 1 Skirmishers



French: 29 Inf, 5 Cavalry, 6 Artillery, 4SK

Russian: 34 Inf, 6 Cavalry, 9 Artillery, 4SK


French deploy, then Russians. Russian artillery deploys limbered.
French have one round of shooting, then Russians have first turn.


The Battle

Here's the deployment, with the entire Russian Corp preparing to advance. Dennisiev's Jagers in skirmish order in the vanguard, followed by everything else. For the French, Legrand holds a line at Jakubowo, with Castex's Chasseurs behind, and then Vedier further back in a second line ready to move up and support Legrand. Doumerac's Cuirassiers are offtable even further behind.




View from the right flank of the French.

And looking from Verdier's position miles north towards Jakubowo.

And now the battle, which doesn't actually need much commentary... 
The Russians repeatedly prepare attacks with artillery and skirmish fire and then send in the attack columns (and sometimes cavalry), while the French do their best to resist.

The French artillery eliminates a deploying Russian battery which is a good start, though the Russian batteries available still outnumber the available French four to one, and two to one once Verdier arrives in support.



Russian Hussars rout a shaken line unit and retire.

A Russian Jager unit routs a French line on the hill, but the two French batteries here stubbornly resist despite coming under intense skirmisher pressure.

With masses of artillery support, including heavies, the Russian Grenadiers storm into the first two sections of Jakobowo, and hold them for the rest of the battle, excepting a short lived counterattack from the French.



Even the Russian Cossacks get into action, managing to break a very disordered French Line on the French right.

With such a narrow front, it is difficult for the late arriving French Cuirassiers to be usefully employed. 

The French are holding onto the southern most sections of Jakobowo but suffering heavy casualties in order to secure the flanks of these sections.

Russians take attrition but damaged units fall back to rally.

The Russians fail to take all of Jakubowo but the French are at breaking point and so must withdraw (13 units lost to 4 for the Russians), so a Russian victory.



Conclusion

Good to have the Napoleonics back on the table again! A battle where it is challenging for the French to resist all the Russian artillery, which historically caused the French to decide to withdraw and give up  Jakubowo more quickly than Paul and I did!

Also see this worthy account of the action from the Russian perspective by Ion.